US rig count up one as prices continue to slide

The rig count in the Permian Basin was down one this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 313 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 350 rigs were active in the region.

Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is up one from last week at 626 rigs. A year ago, 780 rigs were active. The count shows that 503 rigs sought oil, down two from the previous week, and 119 explored for natural gas, up three from the previous week.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in August of 2020 at 244.

The regional benchmark Plains-West Texas Intermediate Posting ended Friday at $67.71 per barrel, down $2.84 from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $71.23 per barrel, down $2.84 from the previous week.